GOLD RIVER, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots posted their second straight fourth-place finish at the West Coast Conference Rowing Championships, which took place on a picture perfect Saturday morning at the CSUS Aquatics Center on Lake Natoma. Portland sophomores Veronica Nicacio and Brianne Zbylicki both landed on the All-WCC Team.
Portland and Saint Mary's both finished with 20 points, but the tie-breaker went to Portland since their varsity eight topped the Gaels' varsity eight crew in the day's final race. The Pilots and Gaels also tied last year, with Portland claiming the tiebreaker then as well.
That varsity eight race, which is considered the WCC Championships' signature event, could not have been any closer as the Pilots battled the LMU Lions for third place. In the end, the Lions edged the Pilots by 1/100 of a second, as Portland settled for fourth with a time of 6:44.77. LMU improbably posted a time of 6:44.76, and Gonzaga finished first, which helped the Bulldogs win their third straight WCC title.
Portland's varsity eight crew, which was coxed by Miranda Reyes with Nicacio rowing stroke, posted the program's fastest time ever at the WCC Championships. They topped the previous varsity eight best, which happened in 2015, by three seconds.
Portland's varsity four got the day started with a solid showing in their race. The varsity four, with Kaitlin Yap in the cox seat, also claimed the program's fastest WCC time ever, giving the Pilots a fourth-place finish. LMU finished just ahead of the Pilots in third, and the Bulldogs topped San Diego to place first. Portland covered the course in 7:47.09, which was about six seconds faster than last season.
Gonzaga's second eight also won that race, giving the Bulldogs a sweep of all three events. The Portland boat, with Alice Chang coxing and Megan Del Pozzi rowing stroke, shaved five seconds off their time from last year's WCC Championships, coming in at 7:16.50.
"It was a great accomplishment for the varsity eight and four to post the fastest times ever at the WCC's for our program," Portland head coach Pasha Spencer said. "The varsity eight was in contention for third place, which was a program first. You only need to be in that situation once to get a taste of it to know how you will handle it next time. With everyone returning except two seniors in the second varsity boat, we are in a good position."
The Bulldogs collected 42 points, which was six points ahead of second-place San Diego. The third-place Lions finished with 30 points, while Creighton was behind the Pilots and Gaels in sixth with 14 points. Santa Clara rounded out the field in seventh.
2017 West Coast Conference Rowing Championship Final Team Totals
1. Gonzaga - 42 Points
2. San Diego - 36 Points
3. Loyola Marymount - 30 Points
4. Portland - 20 Points*
5. Saint Mary's - 20 Points
6. Creighton - 14 Points
7. Santa Clara - 6 Points
*Portland wins the tiebreaker due to placement in the I Eight Race
Varsity Four Official Results
1. GONZAGA – 7:10.15
(Cox: Simone Sims, Ana Delucchi, Georgia Davey, Charlotte Lepp, Megan Seifer)
2. SAN DIEGO – 7:20.39
(Cox: Quinn Taylor, Kadee Sylla, Kira McPolin, Nikki Moore, Kathryn Brady)
3. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT – 7:39.79 (Cox: Sarah Rasmussen, Jessica Candela, Ma'at Hembrick, Anna Davis, Sarah Honeycutt)
4. PORTLAND – 7:47.09
(Cox: Kaitlin Yap, Courtney Schmidt, Reeca Bardon, Joselene Piedra, Claire Hodge)
5. SAINT MARY'S – 7:48.51
(Cox: Emma Hancock, Torie Dawson, Kelsey Shinn, Kathleen Pecoraro, Kendle Norgaard)
6. CREIGHTON – 8:03.74
(Cox: Emily Graupman, Alissa Doaln, Dakota Girdley, Julie Bricker, Heather Stevens)
7. SANTA CLARA – 8:17.57
(Cox: Lalie Plecq, Susan Irving, Emma Stinson, Malia Belnap, Domonique Dold)
Second Eight Official Results
1. GONZAGA – 6:36.32
(Cox: Marie Hayman, Rachael Arand, Madison Spina, Anna Johnson, Clare Manthey, Hannah Churchill, Casey Harder, Bella Spies, Hannah Brown)
2. SAN DIEGO – 6:38.76
(Cox: Alena Kaye, Chloe Williams, Merixtell Fernandez-Servitje, Lauren Knibbe, Maya Krah, Carla Kinnunen, Clare Adams, Kelly Hulsing)
3. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT – 6:57.76
(Cox: Bailey Page, Shannon Folan, Anne Marie Fountain, Tamara Jovanovic, Julia Pinamont, Ellery Martin, Nora Consani, Masury Lynch, Alex Colette)
4. SAINT MARY'S – 7:04.73
(Cox: Emma Bangs, Frances Guetlich, Jennifer Faulkner, Sabrina Felix, Kelsey Dunne, Hannah Grunbaum, Trista Ortiz, Ashley Godoy, Rachel Rowland)
5. CREIGHTON – 7:09.06
(Cox: Michelle Frisbie, Liz Maynard, Madison Henrich, Michaela Noreen, Madalyn McKeone, Caitlyn Ward, Whitney Coriolan, Grace Daugherty, Sydney Olson)
6. PORTLAND – 7:16.50
(Cox: Alice Chang, Megan Delpozzi, Megan Medalia, Maddie Goodwin, Sydne Jacoby, Celina Perez, Olivia Sanchez, Maddy Bettinger-Lobash, Kiva Goodman)
7. SANTA CLARA – 7:22.72
(Cox: Maddie Angevine, Angie Scott, Jiana Serpa, Catherine Moore, Sarah Smith, Leah Senatro, Irish Manalang, Courtney Malecki, Tyra O'Neal)
Varsity Official Results
1. GONZAGA – 6:25.76
(Cox: Ariel Evans, Alexa Jadallah, Olivia Marsh, Carolina Maguire, Lauren English, Meghan McCallum, Micailah Donner, Isabelle Belzil, Olivia Lada, Lindey English)
2. SAN DIEGO – 6:30.81
(Cox: Karli Wittenberg, Jane Bird, Meredith Hoggatt, Susie Taylor, Uche Anyanwu, Megan Goodman, Lizzie Bader, Morgan Lester, Vada Thomas)
3. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT – 6:44.76
(Cox: Ciara Campbell, Louisa Del Valle, Kim Ehntholt, Briar Murphy, Madison Hodgekins, Numa Dorling, India Krappe, Alexandria Bauer, Clara Brackbill)
4. PORTLAND – 6:44.77
(Cox: Miranda Reyes, Veronica Nicacio, Brianne Zbylicki, Hannah Burns, Lauren Reid, Melanie Martinell, Acacia Wellsford, Jacqueline Bass, Lauren Jesse)
5. SAINT MARY'S – 7:00.44
(Cox: Kylie Aberle, Elery Bermudez, Abbie McGill, Alexis McGuire, Olivia Rooney, Brianna Pero, Kimberly Deleon-Briones, Beatrice McGinnis, Shannon Youmans)
6. CREIGHTON – 7:08.55
(Cox: Hannah Wysopal, Louisa Karam, Mackenzie Hatcher, Maddie Eyer, McKinley Wilson, Isabelle Buhr, Samantha Erickson, Mary Stanley, Alyssa Frietas)
7. SANTA CLARA – 7:18.47
(Cox: Hollynd Boyden, Valeria Bright, Katie Wickstrom, Ellie Lammers-Lewis, Lelia Chihab, Gabby Tordillos, Brianna Hillman, Malyna Sanchez, Hope McGowan)
2017 West Coast Conference Women's Rowing Major Awards
WCC Newcomer of the Year: Caroline Maguire, Gonzaga
WCC Coxswain of the Year: Alexa Jadallah, Gonzaga
WCC Rower of the Year: Uche Anyanwu, San Diego
WCC Coach of the Year: Glenn Putyrae, Gonzaga
2017 All-West Coast Conference Women's Rowing Team
Creighton: Maddie Eyer, Isabella Buhr
Gonzaga: Micailah Donner, Olivia Marsh, Meghan McCallum, Isabelle Belzil
Loyola Marymount: Kim Ehntholt, Briar Murphy
Portland: Veronica Nicacio, Brianne Zbylicki
Saint Mary's: Alexis McGuire, Beatrice McGinnis
San Diego: Uche Anyanwu, Meredith Hoggatt, Megan Goodman
Santa Clara: Valerie Bright, Leila Chihab
